Gangs Are Just As Dangerous As You Think
by reflect.clouds
Summary: Lady Clark of Books' idea. Rich and poor, chav and emo, posh or from the trailer park; life in Nottingham is just as complicated for teens as it is for adults. Who knew school was so hard? RobinxMarian, WillxDjaq, MuchxEve, JohnxAlice, AllanxOC.
1. School is Politics?

**As everyone else seems to be doing these, I've decided to try Lady Clark of Books' challenge. Hopefully it's ok - it's not really my style but I've done my best. If you're wondering, this chapter is in Marian's point of view. Although Djaq and most of the other main characters don't make a very big appearance, they will next year. Please review when you're done - I really appreciate it!**

**Note: This doesn't mean I've given up on 'Hope Against Hope'. The next chapter for that story will be up soon, so don't worry.**

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In general I'm not a morning person. Actually, that's a bit of an understatement – I'm _never _a morning person. Even when I've had hours and hours the evening before to prepare, the entire holidays to make sure I have everything I need and a good night's sleep, I still can't bring myself to get out of bed. I reckon it must be genetic; no one is naturally that lazy. Well, to be fair to myself, if I survive past ten in the morning, my energy finally starts kicking in. I just wish it would do it a bit quicker, that's all. Honestly, I actually promised myself I'd be ready and wide awake by seven this morning. I even laid out my uniform and packed my bag for the first day of year 11. As my best friend AJ pointed out to me when I told her this, it was never going to happen. I managed to drag myself downstairs, yawning and tugging at my hair irritably, only to receive an annoying text from the girl saying 'told you so'. I suppose it was my fault for promising to meet her at the bus stop at seven-thirty. As things were, I was rushing breakfast at seven-forty-five and AJ was probably in the form room by now. I sort of ran out of the house, probably looking completely insane, and only just caught the late bus. Never a good idea. Robin Locksley and his cronies all get that bus – I had to sit downstairs so they didn't see me with my hair a complete mess and no make up on. I can't believe I used to be friends with that boy. With my luck, unless I practically raced down the road before he had time to get off the bus, I would have to walk to school with him. To be fair, he's not the worst – that would be his friend Allan, always cracking jokes and being a general idiot. He makes the most sexist comments, and I'm not even a feminist so it just proves how bad it is that I actually care. Luckily we're being split up this year because of our options, so hopefully I won't have any classes with him.

I actually made it halfway down the road before Locksley saw me. It was one of the few times I actually wished for Guy to come save me. Normally he can't seem to separate from me. Why pick this, of all days, to take my hint about spending time apart? I looked around for anything – a sign, a symbol, a gift from God. Nothing came to hand and I scowled. Sometimes I wish I was actually religious – maybe if I was, God might actually send me a miracle when I needed one. Alright, so the situation wasn't _desperate, _but it came pretty close.

"Marian!" I heard him call from behind me and cringed. Oh damn, this was going to be hell.

"Yes?" I answered frostily in the voice which AJ calls my pompous voice. I turned to face him, hoping I didn't look as bad as I thought I did. "Oh, it's you. I thought it was..." I trailed off at that point. I didn't think I knew a single person who was so annoying that I could compare him to Locksley. He grinned annoyingly at me and Allan wolf-whistled. I threw him a death stare which didn't seem to have any effect.

"Come walk with us," Robin suggested evilly. Normally I hate being rude but he _knows _what he did and he deliberately ignores it. I suppose I should explain. Well, Robin and I were best friends all through years 7, 8 and 9. Then, halfway through year 10, Robin vanished. No one knew where he'd gone and his parents were terrified. They phoned the police, who interviewed all of Robin's main friends. That included me of course – they basically insinuated that I'd actually helped him plan his little stunt. My dad was furious at Robin and so was I; the police wouldn't leave me alone. When he finally returned, just a few weeks before the end of term, everyone treated it as a big joke. Except me. Maybe I'm just holding a grudge, I know. AJ say's I'm being stupid but that time was the worst of my life and can you blame me for being a little annoyed?

"I'd rather not actually," I answered coolly, trying not to sound stuck up. It didn't work very well – I think he found it funny. Gritting my teeth, I turned and stormed down the road, trying to ignore his voice calling my name. Oh yeah, 'reason to hate him' number two: he brings out the worst in me every time. It doesn't really help that my group of friends hate him too.

I managed to get into the form room with as little fuss as possible. Even though it was a new room, anyone with eyes could see that the groups were already there. Groups at King Richard's Academy were actually quite simple. Oh, just so you know, 'King Richard's Academy' is just a glorified name for the local comprehensive. The group I'm in is filled with a bunch of people who stay together out of sheer convenience. It consists of me and AJ, Guy Gisborne, Vaysey Sheriff, Sarah McMahon and John King. Vaysey is the self-appointed leader, something you have to get used to after a while. Technically John King should be leader because he's the brother of the current unofficial 'head boy' figure in our school. They aren't anything alike and that's why Vaysey's in charge I suppose (what parent calls their son _Vaysey? _I'm not even sure if it's a real name). I actually don't like Vaysey at all, but being friends with them is easier than being part of Robin's group. I only stay in that group as so not to cause trouble for myself. After all, Vaysey has a lot more power – he rules half the school with the help of his sister's group. Davina Sheriff is a year younger than us and head cheerleader. In actual fact, she invented the cheerleading club – we live in England, not America, although Davina would prefer it the other way around.

"You took your time," AJ drawled as she spotted me come in. I gave her a look that was meant to be scathing but probably came out as tired. She had saved me a seat, though that hadn't stopped Guy from sitting on the other side, looking at me with a keen expectancy which should've been sweet if it wasn't so scary. AJ saw my look of 'here-we-go-again' and grinned deviously. Part Italian, Iranian and Chinese, Alison-Jeanette Hashemi (you can see why she shortens it to AJ) wasn't really a part of the group – the only thing that stopped Vaysey from kicking her out was my protests. You see, our class was split into two halves. The rich kids and the trailer park kids. On the outskirts of town was a trailer park where most of the town's crimes and dodgy dealings occurred. That wasn't their fault; it just so happened that everyone who didn't live there assumed that they were a bunch of gypsies because they didn't live in a proper house. The trailer park lot were treated like dirt by pretty much anyone who wasn't one of them and that was where the divide came in. Although I was one of the 'rich kids' I tried to be nice to the trailer park kids, even though they hated me for being part of Vaysey's lot. Technically AJ was one of the trailer park kids but seeing as at the time I wasn't allowed to hang out with them, I dragged her up into my group (using Guy's crush on me to do this – I felt bad for months after but it was worth it).The only exception to the divide was Robin and his friends. Although they were all 'rich kids', they hung out with the trailer kids and that was heresy in Vaysey's book. Robin, like me, thought that the trailer kids were just as good as everyone else. Except he actually did something about it - not that I could tell anyone had ever benefitted from it.

"Alright, you win," I groaned, practically falling into my seat. "Did you have good holidays?" AJ shrugged.

"It wasn't so bad," she remarked nonchalantly. "I went out to Town Park most of the time." Town Park was the centre of trailer kid area, a rundown park with a large skateboard area and plenty of drink, drugs and smoking. "I saw Locksley and his lot around a couple of times. Apart from that, nothing interesting happened."

"What did you get up to, Marian?" Guy asked hopefully. I didn't know what he was hoping for. Did he want me to say I missed him or something?

"Erm, nothing really Guy," I answered. Then, just to be nice, I added: "I didn't see you around. Did you have a good time?" AJ gave a not-so-subtle cough and Guy beamed.

"Yeah, I suppose," he replied. "It would've been better if _you _had been there." AJ gave another cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. I nudged her in the ribs and she jumped, glaring at me.

"Well, maybe next time," I managed, while trying to ignore AJ's muffled giggles. Before Guy could say anything else, Vaysey swung around to glare at me.

"I saw you walking to school with _Locksley_," he stated. The way he said Robin's name made it sound like I had been caught helping an axe murderer. I tried to prevent myself from snapping; Vaysey is one of the people I can truly say I detest. Sometimes AJ pointed out that, seeing as I hate half the people in the group, I really shouldn't be friends with them at all. As I always responded, after five years it's a bit late for that.

"Hardly," I replied coldly. "He was annoying me, as much as I tried to get away." Guy scowled and Vaysey smirked.

"Speak of the devil," AJ muttered with a hint of glee as Robin and his friends burst through the door making as much noise as it was humanly possible too. Robin is one of those people who make every action into a drama piece. By the time he'd thrown himself into the seat in literal slow motion, swung his feet onto the desks with an impossibly loud thump and gave an exaggerated hand motion for everyone else to do the same, I felt exhausted from just watching it. The trailer park students crowded around him to Vaysey's annoyance; Guy cracked his knuckles menacingly like a gangster out of 'The Godfather'. I looked around to see who _wasn't_ affected by Robin's presence. Four girls in the corner of the classroom caught my eye. They were the quiet section of the trailer park lot in our class; an Arabic girl whose name I forget, a blonde girl called Eve who's good at French, another girl with mousy brown hair whose name begins with 'A' and an Irish redhead called Eilish Lyons. As I watched, the Arabic girl caught the eye of one of Robin's friends – a tall, dark haired boy called Will Scarlett – and blushed. Eilish giggled at her friend and Eve and the girl whose name begins with 'A' avoided looking over at Robin's gang, blushing as well. Even they were drawn to the self-named 'Outlaws'.

"Why look who it is, the Golden Boy himself," Vaysey remarked loudly. Guy snickered, AJ yawned and I looked away from the gazes of everyone in the class. Why couldn't Vaysey keep his mouth shut? I hated being seen as one of the bad guys.

"Vaysey, it's been too long," Robin returned with a devilish grin. "I've been so looking forward to..._catching up _this term."

"You're on, Locksley," Vaysey smirked. Just then the door flew open and the final member of our group appeared. Sarah Hoare stood in the doorway, gloriously bleached peroxide hair shining like a builder's fluorescent vest. I used to think it was sheer misfortune that her last name sounded exactly the same as 'whore', but I'm currently under the impression she picked it herself. Somehow the girl had 'forgotten' to do up her shirt buttons to just above her push-up bra; for a moment I wondered why she'd put on the belt and forgotten the skirt. Then I realised that the narrow strip of blue fabric _was _her skirt. AJ exploded into a fit of giggles-mixed-with-choking-sounds-of-disbelief.

"Don't look now Sarah, but I think you forgot your skirt when you got dressed," someone called out. Sarah just tossed her impressive set of hair extensions and came over to sit beside Guy, gazing longingly over at Robin. He dumped her two years ago but she was still under the impression he was 'just taking a break'. Everyone mumbled hello to her; no one was quite sure how she was in their group as none of them actually liked her.

"Isn't it lovely to be back? I think it is. I met the loveliest boy on my lovely holidays but no one could replace my lovely Robin, you know what I mean?" Sarah had a habit of using 'lovely' to describe everything as well as talking extremely fast without pausing for breath. I bit my lip to stop myself rolling my eyes as she mentioned Robin. Even when we were friends I had hated him going out with her. Actually, I hadn't really liked him going out with anyone, though I have no idea why. No idea at all. AJ likes to say it's because I fancy him but that is _definitely _not true. Definitely. "So, do you think he's looking at me? Oh he definitely is – we were just made for each other, right?" Everyone gave a vague mumbled reply; even Vaysey had learnt that you could torture her and Sarah would simply continue on about Robin relentlessly. Turning to the boy in question, she batted her eyelids and pouted. "Robin, you haven't said hello to _me _yet. Don't you want to know about my holidays?"

"Not really," Robin replied, looking at his gang for an escape route. They all shrugged, Allan grinning gleefully. "Uh, you look...well. I suppose. If you like that sort of...look." For an annoyingly rude person, Robin could try my patience with his politeness sometimes. Three desks down, Sarah was in rapture. Before she could throw what everyone knew would be a lewd suggestion at him, the bell rang for assembly. A chorus of groans went up as chairs were scraped back, bags hauled off desks and people shuffled their way towards the door. Sighing, I rose and crossed the classroom with AJ following behind me, looking bored enough for the both of us. I hate assemblies.

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Here's one of the very few good things about being in year eleven: you get to sit on chairs, not the floor. Honestly, I've never felt as patronised as when sitting cross-legged on the floor while the teachers looked down on me from the stage. Sure, the seats are a hideous shade of lurid orange and made out of the cheapest plastic you could get, but that's better than nothing. AJ managed to 'accidently' send Sarah flying into a line of year 9s when trying to get good chairs. As usual, it was left to me to apologise. Robin and his friends had taken half the back row and Vaysey refused to sit anywhere near them so we ended up sitting halfway through the rows of seats. Apparently AJ was in a merciful mood; she seated herself right between me and Guy, who looked very put out and spent the next ten minutes brooding.

"Have you spoken to Robin yet?" AJ whispered to me. I frowned. She knew I didn't talk to him – why was she asking?

"Of course not," I replied in irritation. "What did you expect?"

"It says in the Bible, forgive and forget. Or something along those lines - you get the idea."

"Yeah, like you've ever looked at a Bible," I scoffed. AJ was one of the most unreligious people I knew. "And anyway, he deserves it."

"For your information, my godmother's...sister's...cousin's best friend showed me her Bible," AJ stated and we both started giggling. "It still counts, alright? And anyway, you know that you're just being stubborn. You don't even hate him; you just hate the idea of falling in love with him again." My jaw dropped and I shoved her hard.

"You don't have a clue about what you're talking about," I hissed. The head master, Mr. Ramsby, was speaking but I didn't care. "For starters, I was never in love with Robin Locksley. We were just friends; can't you get that into your head? And he basically ran off and left me to try and fix the mess he left behind, what was I supposed to do? Welcome him home with open arms?" AJ just gave me a knowing look. I returned it with a withering glance and looked away, determined not to talk to her unless she apologised. I absolutely, definitely, 100 would not give up on this. I would not give in to the temptation of pointing out that Sarah's highlights were reflecting the fluorescent lighting and blinding me. I would resist the need to share the fact that Mrs. Ireson was holding hands with Mr. Davies, who was about five years younger and ten times as handsome as her husband. I would hold out. I held my breath and counted to ten. I would hold out. I would not give in. It lasted for a full ten minutes. "Look at Mrs. Ireson and Mr. Davies." AJ raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, are you talking to me now? Ten minutes, I think that's a new record."

"Oh shut up," I snapped. A few heads turned in our direction and I went bright red. I've always been a terrible blusher – apparently I inherited it from my mother. All I can say is, I bet my mother didn't get thrown into half the embarrassing situations that I did. "Let's call truce because I can't be bothered to fight with you anymore." AJ shrugged, which I took to mean yes.

"All I'm saying is, I'm sure you would want forgiveness if you were in his shoes," she stated. I bit my lip. I hated it when AJ was right. I would want forgiveness and it wasn't like he hadn't apologised. Alright, so maybe I was holding a grudge for too long. I sighed and made a quick new year's resolution: try and be nice to Robin. Just then, a ball of paper fell over my shoulder, narrowly missing my head and landing in my lap. I picked it up suspiciously and opened it, recognising the familiar handwriting immediately.

"Hey Marian! Did you have good holidays? Are you still not talking to me? I've said sorry one thousand times and I'll say it again if it makes you happy – I'm sorry. Please forgive me and I'll be your slave for life, honestly."

I rolled my eyes and showed the paper to AJ, who smirked. We both looked behind us to the back row where Robin sat, gazing at me with an odd expression on his face. I turned back around and grabbed a pen from my bag, trying not to attract attention. Mr. Ramsby droned on, ignoring the fact that some year 8s had started up a game of tug-of-war, some year 9s and 10s had fallen asleep and the Robin had thrown about a rainforest of paper aeroplanes at Guy and Vaysey. Behind me I could hear Allan's phone going off and Eve from my French class reading a book.

"You. Are. A. Twat." I wrote. So what if it wasn't grammatically correct. Sue me. "And you don't deserve forgiveness." AJ jogged me and I glared at her and at the huge ink smudge on my note. "But, due to intense peer pressure-" here I glared at AJ "-I will forgive you. Don't get any ideas though." Feeling a wave of overly polite attitude come over me, I added: "My holidays were good, I hope yours were too." AJ snorted and I ignored her, turning to toss the scrunched up piece of paper at Robin, who caught it easily. He read it and I almost laughed to see his face light up. He grinned at me and I gave a grudging smile in return. Ok, maybe this was just a little too easy.


	2. Lunchtime is fun?

**Most of you will be surprised to see this is up. Hell, I'm surprised at myself. Due to a nasty virus which wiped out all my files on the new Word format (don't ask me what it's called) I had to rewrite this chapter. Several times actually, in order to try and get it right. So I hope you like it! It's long, extra-long, just because I'm a very bad person who didn't update for months on end. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you really are the ones that persuaded me to continue. Please review this chapter and I promise to update sooner!! Oh yeah, one question - would you prefer this to be all in Marian's POV or from others as well?**

**Review Responses:**

DeathlyElegance**: I'm thinking it probably wil be mostly in Marian's POV but I'm still undecided. What do you think? Robin's disappearance was based on something real that happened to my friend, which is where I got the idea from. Thanks!**

auroraask**: Thanks! I tried!**

Linn Marie**: To be quite honest, it was your review which got me writing again, I felt so bad:) Thanks!**

RocMySox**: You gotta love that name. Thanks, I'm trying to keep it real :)**

X-Kate-X**: Thanks! I have a (vague) idea of what the plot will be, so things should move a little faster.**

Outlaw of Sherwood**: Thanks! Marian is so fun to write...Sarah's name is actually a real name - it's my friend Beatrice's last name :D. More will be revealed about Robin's disappearance, I promise! **

spinningisfun**:D Thanks!**

littlemissmaster**: Of course :) Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: Well DUH this isn't the real thing. And double DUH that I don't own any of it.**

**((All Marian's POV again))**

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Day two and I already can't wait for the holidays. I mean, it's only the second day back and I already feel like banging my head repeatedly against a wall. The day had started off badly enough. I 'woke up' at seven-thirty – 'made loud groaning noises while struggling wildly under a mass of bed sheets' would be closer to the mark – and couldn't find half my uniform. I spent about ten minutes stumbling around in the dark, managing to trip over several hard objects (including a desk – how could I not notice a desk?) before switching on the light and remembering I left it in the bathroom. My dad, in all his ingenuity, had forgotten to programme the central heating so the entire house was freezing. When I got to the bathroom, I found my skirt and jumper in a crumpled heap under the sink, both looking like they'd been thrown into a ditch for a very long time. It was quarter past seven by then, so I had to make do with it. Did I mention I look like a mix between a convict and someone stranded on a desert island in the morning? My hair was deliberately playing up (one side flicked up like a shelf and the other remained completely straight and neither would give in) so I pulled it back in a ponytail and hoped no one would notice. I really didn't feel like make up but at my school, any girl who doesn't wear make up is considered either lazy or butch. So I did my eyeliner and mascara but I couldn't be bothered with foundation and my skin was actually having a good day, unlike the rest of me. The bad day continued; when I got down to the kitchen, there was no toast. Or more accurately, there was no sign of any breakfast food at all. After an attempt at a search – I opened all the cupboards, stuck my hand in and rummaged around a bit – I gave up. 

"Dad! There's no food!" I heard a muffled groan and a thump - it appeared I'd woken my dad up.

"What do you mean, 'no food'?" He shouted back. He sounded a bit drunk, which is how my dad always sounds when he wakes up. In actual fact he barely ever gets drunk, but when he does he gets absolutely smashed. When I was eleven he let me drive the car around the pub car park when Aunt Vicky came to visit from Scotland.

"There's no toast! No bread at all!" I heard the sound of something falling over and my dad swearing loudly.

"Well, have some yoghurt then!" I scowled. I _hate _yoghurt. With a passion. I don't even know why, I just do. My dad loves the stuff, so it's obviously not genetic.

"I hate yoghurt! You know that!"

"Well, what do you want me to do? Magic some out of thin air?" I resisted the urge to rip off one of the cupboard doors and throw it across the room. Mainly because knowing me I'd probably end up spraining my wrist and leaving the door untouched, but I also happen to be blessed with amazing self-control. Really.

"Fine! I'll just...not eat breakfast!" I yelled up the stairs, grabbing my blazer. Yep, another impulsive decision that I ended up regretting. You see, although the area we live in is actually really nice compared to the rest of town, it has nothing but houses. If I wanted breakfast, I had three choices: Sam's Burger House, where a boy who went to the other comprehensive got stabbed last year; the MacDonalds outside the train station where Smoky Joe – a crazy guy who smokes weed and apparently molested a sixth former – sleeps; and finally the Subway which was twenty minutes walk away. All the other cheap places to eat were trailer territory, which was fine when I was with AJ but a bit like writing 'I have a death wish' on my forehead in red marker any other time. So no breakfast.

Typically, it was sub-zero temperatures when I got outside. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and my legs were freezing. You know those unwritten laws in school that say every girl's skirt must be two-inches-above-knee-length or higher? I bet whoever made them up had a strong wish to torture the female half of the student body and I bet whoever it was was a guy. Because unless they lived on a tropical island or something, any girl with sense would've forced guys to wear short skirts as well – it's always girls who have to suffer. I mean, unless you count people like Guy who spend far too much time with using gel, hairspray and black eyeliner, the majority of the male student body could walk in looking like they'd fallen into a bush and call it 'grunge'.

"You look hungry," AJ commented as I approached the bus stop in a foul mood. "Did you skip breakfast? You're not going anorexic on me, are you Mazzie?" I glared at her.

"Don't call me that. And you're one to talk," I pointed out. AJ was one of those girls blessed and cursed with a stick thin figure – flat stomach, slender legs and arms, but not much else. I beat her in that respect – AJ was fifteen and could fit into her ten-year-old brother's shirts with ease, much to her despair. "You don't happen to have any food, do you?"

"Sorry," AJ shrugged. "You know me. Any food gets eaten." That was true – for someone so thin, AJ ate about the same amount as the fat people on 'Supersize Me'. AJ's mum had got into the habit of dropping her packed lunch into the school office after break so AJ couldn't eat it before lunchtime.

"Damn you and your excessive appetite," I muttered, trying to ignore the growling in my stomach.

"You could always ask Guy," AJ suggested slyly. I considered this. Sure enough, Guy would probably cross the Pacific in a rowing boat to get me an American hamburger if I asked him nicely enough, but he'd also probably jump to the conclusion it would be 'our thing' and bring me home-cooked lunch every day for the rest of my school life and probably a significant time after as well.

"And have to put up with him offering to give lunch to me for the rest of the year and beyond? I think I'll pass, funnily enough."

"Well, ask Robin," AJ yawned. I frowned. It wasn't that I didn't want to be friends with him, it was just...I didn't want to seem too keen to be friends again. I didn't want to look like I was throwing myself into his arms. As well as that, borrowing food off Robin Locksley was flat out treachery in Vaysey's book. Could I really be bothered with the effort?

"Too much trouble," I mused. "I can wait. After all, all those anorexic girls go for days and days without food. I'm sure I can last through a couple of hours." AJ looked sceptical.

"Sure," she drawled, dragging out the word to show her disbelief. "Let's see how that goes."

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The story of my life. It pretty much explains how I ended up standing at the door to the canteen with AJ, stomach growling and a dark scowl all over my face. It's pretty obvious God never made me to be anorexic; I can't even last until lunch.

"AJ, watching other people eat is making me hungrier," I whined. Trust me; nothing seems more appetising than canteen slop when you're starving. I didn't even know what it was but I could've eaten a barrel of it. AJ shrugged, pack lunch in one hand.

"I refuse to stand outside in the freezing cold because you couldn't be bothered to find something to eat this morning," she told me. "You can share mine if you want. I've got noodles." Did I mention AJ has the weirdest lunches? Today she had a pot of noodles, complete with chopsticks, a box of sushi and a bottle of Sunny D (after I told her how bad it was for you, she only has it once a week). The day before she had slice of pizza, a box of olives and some sort of salad. AJ has OCD when it comes to lunch – she likes her lunches to be themed by country. Apparently, today was Japan and Sunny D day.

"Can I have some of the noodles?" I asked her and she grinned.

"If you're good you can even have some Sunny D."

"I'd have to be left in the Sahara desert for three years with no water or rain before I touched a drop of that stuff." She punched my arm lightly.

"Do you want noodles or not?"

"I want noodles," I muttered humbly. AJ smirked and led the way into the canteen which was – of course – socially divided. On one side, two tables had been pushed together: Vaysey and Davina Sheriff. I don't think it ever occurred to Vaysey how degrading it is to have to sit with a bunch of air-headed blondes in the year below us. Because, of course, they were all blondes. God forbid Davina Sheriff should ever befriend someone who wasn't blonde! Her group – six girls, including Davina – sat on one table with Davina on the end that joined her brother's table. Her second-in-command, Amber Lee-Hollards, sat on the opposite side. There were a few other rich kid groups, but ours was the largest. On the other side sat the main trailer park group: KeKe Baptiste's lot. Like Davina's group they're all girls – their boyfriends used to be part of the group until they all got expelled after a huge gang fight. KeKe and her friends are probably alright if you get to know them but if they've got it in for you, they can be an absolute nightmare. I don't know how they're still in this school – I don't think they went to a single lesson in year 10. Seriously, if you ever bunk off you will _always _see them walking around smoking or calling their boyfriends.

In the middle of the canteen was Robin's table. For some reason they had chosen to sit right in the middle of the divide, surrounded by the weakest of both sides. They had a certain order to seating as well, though they would never admit it – Robin sat next to Much and opposite Allan, who sat beside Will. John sat on the other side of Robin. Once every now and again, the quiet trailer park girls came and sat with them too. The Arabic girl whose name I can _never _remember sits beside Will, Eve from French class sits next to Much, the other brown-haired girl sits next to John and Eilish sits on the end.

"Marian..." AJ whined.

"No," I answered before she had the chance to say what it was she wanted. Whenever AJ uses that voice, I just know it means she wants something that is undoubtedly going to cause trouble in future.

"You never let me finish!" She exclaimed. I sighed.

"That's because you're going to say something stupid."

"How do you know if you won't let me finish?"

"Fine! Finish! You're such a pain!"

"I was thinking," AJ began and it was hard to miss the sly edge in her eyes. "I don't really feel like sitting with Vaysey and them today. And, there is that barely used rule that says if you make up with something after a fight you have to eat lunch with them once..."

"AJ, _no_."

"...So I was thinking we could go sit with Robin and his friends!" She chirped as though I hadn't said anything at all. I gave her the full death stare and she took a step back hurriedly but didn't stop smiling. "Please? Vaysey and them are so boring!"

"You've put up with them for over a year!"

"And my patience has run out! Please Marian, please!" I glared at her suspiciously. AJ didn't normally get this het up about where she sat at lunch. I mean, I knew she didn't like Vaysey at all but she'd never really cared about sitting with him before. Something was up...

"What's your real plan?"

"What do you mean?" She asked innocently. Still, AJ had been my best friend too long to not recognise when I had her figured out. Slowly her expression changed, becoming slightly more bitter. "Look, I know it's unusual. But Marian, _this is our last year_. Next year we'll all be off to different sixth forms. I don't want to waste my entire last year sitting next to people I hate, and I know that you don't either." Damn. She had me exactly where I was weakest. You see, King Richard's Academy doesn't have a sixth form. Most students went down the road to Sherwood College for years 12 and 13. A lot of the trailer park lot didn't go to sixth form last year because you had to pay and some simply didn't have the money. I would be going Sherwood and hopefully AJ would too, but I still didn't want to waste my year 11. She knew me too well. But then...was it really worth it? And it would be completely awkward. And...oh God, did I feel _shy? _Well, maybe it was for the best that we didn't sit with them, if I was going to start blushing like an idiot.

"No, AJ. Not today at least – maybe some other time. But I...I just really don't want to. Okay?" To my surprise, AJ agreed with minimum fuss. Normally she would never let it go. Still, I decided that it wasn't worth it to continue and we crossed the room to our normal places. Vaysey has a strict seating plan which cannot be broken (I honestly think he has OCD. It's not even funny). As the least favourite member of our group, AJ sits on the end and I sit beside her. Unfortunately, that also means that I have to sit next to Guy. Lucky me.

"Marian! What took you so long?" He exclaimed sounding a bizarre mix of eagerness and his usual drone. I cringed, dropping into the seat beside him in resignation.

"Er, AJ had to get her lunch?" I answered weakly. The girl in question extracted her box of noodles from the bag and passed it over to me. "Thanks – I owe you."

"Don't eat it all, seriously," she told me severely. Pulling out her little box of sushi, she grinned in anticipation. I rolled my eyes.

"You get _way _too excited over food," I told her. She shrugged. Down the table, Davina gave me a smile about as fake as Sarah's nails.

"Marian! Darling, I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Mmmm," I affirmed, trying to sound enthusiastic. "Indeed. I missed you during the holidays." AJ burst into a mysterious coughing fit and I was grateful for the chance to turn away from Davina and pat her on the back. "How long can you keep doing that for?" I mumbled to her. "Because the longer you can, the less time I have to spend talking to Davina." AJ simply nodded while making extraordinarily fake choking sounds. She was lucky enough to be out of Davina's range – Davina Sheriff would never lower herself to actually talking to one of the trailer trash, even a glorified one.

"Shut up, Alison, I can't hear myself think," Vaysey snapped. He's the only one who calls AJ Alison and she absolutely loathes it. Sometimes I feel really bad when I think of all the things she puts up with for my sake. Now, she silenced herself and had to be content with giving him the finger when he turned around.

"The noodles are great," I told her and she beamed.

"I know, dearie. Nadia's getting really good now days."

"You make your sister cook you lunch?" I gasped, slightly shocked. Nadia was AJ's second youngest sibling at ten. AJ actually had five siblings but three had left home already, so it was only her, Nadia, Michael and her mum – her dad was in the army.

"She enjoys it," AJ shrugged. "She likes that sort of thing and I'm hopeless at it. Seriously, her idols are Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson. Besides, if she's already making her and Michael's lunch, why shouldn't she make mine?" I shook my head with a sigh, declining to expand on the fairness of making a ten-year-old prepare three packed lunches. "Anyway, I've got some _amazing _news."

"And you wait until now to tell me because...?" I asked, raising one eyebrow. AJ made a circular hand gesture and I swivelled so my back was to Guy who gave an offended grunt but turned to Vaysey instead.

"Because it's so amazing, I figured I should wait until our lunchtime chat," AJ grinned. "Okay, you're never going to believe it...I have _two tickets to All Saints at the end of this month_." My jaw dropped. All Saints, as it was called, was a gig for local emo bands that they held every month in Nottingham Gatehouse. Normally I'm not really an emo fan but All Saints was notorious for its wild atmosphere – the bands were the best of the best and sometimes famous bands came along as well, as a surprise. Although it was open to anyone over thirteen and you weren't supposed to bring alcohol, most of the attendants were completely pissed by the end of the evening. It had a history of fights, sex, drugs and drink so therefore All Saints was top of the social scene – everyone wanted to be there. It was almost impossible to get tickets though, as usually they were reserved by the older kids from the trailer park who had friends playing. I had always wanted to go to All Saints though my dad was strongly against it, not to mention the fact I didn't have enough connections to get me tickets.

"How did you get them?" I asked her. AJ smirked, looking smug.

"My brother came back over from uni for the weekend," she told me. "He pulled a few strings and got me two tickets. Me and you. Do you want to go?"

"Are you crazy? Of course I want to!" I shrieked. Several people turned to stare and I went red as usual. AJ noticed and choked on her Sunny D in laughter. I rolled my eyes in an attempt to remain dignified as she struggled to swallow her mouthful. "Didn't your mum ever teach you not to mess around when eating?" AJ gave me the finger.

"That was so immature that I'm not even going to _bother _to respond," she sighed, shaking back her jet black fringe from her eyes. "Anyway, are you going to come?"

"I'll have to ask Dad first, but yeah," I replied. "When's it?"

"Last day of the month, idiot," AJ informed me scornfully. "It's always then, isn't it? And, oh yeah," she paused casually and I couldn't help feeling apprehensive. "...Robin and his friends are coming."

"You've got to be joking," I moaned. Can you blame me? I swear, that guy is _everywhere_ – I mean, there comes a time when coincidence stops being coincidence and becomes...well...you get the idea at any rate. "Is he stalking me or something?"

"I wouldn't flatter yourself, honey," AJ grinned mischievously. "He and his friends go there every time it's on. After all, they've _got_ the connections. Anyway, he'll be completely pissed and have girls all over him so you probably won't even see him."

"So why tell me?"

"I figured that if we _did_ see him and I hadn't told you, you would completely freak on me."

"Fair enough," I mused. "Ah well. It's worth it. All Saints!" AJ frowned, looking down at the table. "What? What's wrong?"

"Bitch, you finished the noodles!" She accused. I looked down in puzzlement. So I had.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I kicked an empty can across the almost deserted playground, my bag banging against my legs heavily. Even though it was only the second day back I already had been set two essays for next week. My dad was also getting really heavy on the whole 'stay-at-home-and-study' idea for some reason. I don't see why, it's not even like I get bad grades – in my last report I only got one B and no Cs at all. And the B was in PE; how can you get a B in PE? It's not even like you're doing _work _most of the time. And AJ got an A, which is completely unfair seeing as the only work she does in PE is when she has to run laps for talking. I suppose it's because when she does her punishment laps, she does them really fast and doesn't get out of breath. She's actually really athletic but Mr Fontaine, our PE teacher, hates her guts. As for me, I actually do alright (not including the B, which I think of as a total fluke). Sarah got a C because she vanishes to the medical room every lesson due to various illnesses and injuries. Guy got an A because I think he uses sports as anger management. Robin and his friends all get As easily. Well, all besides Much. The poor guy gets tired as soon as he starts.

I rolled my eyes as 'Soulja Boy' started playing on my iPod. I mean, that song was hilarious at first, but after watching Davina and her friends perform it five hundred times – because they are so 'hardcore' – it's about as annoying as the Balamory theme tune. I pulled my iPod out of my blazer pocket and pressed 'next'; my iPod is always on shuffle because I'm too lazy to change the songs myself. An old lady gave me a dirty look as I pushed the playground gate open, as if I'd been caught spray-painting a wall or something. Marian Fitzwalter, guilty of being in a playground while wearing local comprehensive uniform and looking like a typical teenager which, in Nottingham, translates as thug in senior citizens' books. There are only three secondary schools in Nottingham – the glorious (not) King Richard's Academy; the (marginally-better-than-King-Richard's) Dame Sarah Harriott Comprehensive; and, last but most elite, St Francis' Grammar School for Young Ladies and Gentlemen (what a name! ). Dame Sarah's is over an hour away and St Francis' charge £5000 per month – I'm being serious – so I got stuck in King Richard's just like everyone else who couldn't get to anywhere else.

To get home, I have to get the bus to Groven Park and walk through there and about three more blocks. As usual, my dad isn't back from work yet, so I have to open the door myself. Not so easy as it sounds, if you're me. Nearly every day I end up standing on my doorstep, rifling through my various pockets and eventually half-tipping out my school bag impatiently while my iPod blasts out a song I hate on full volume, until eventually I dig them out from somewhere and fall into my house like a survivor of an earthquake. All I can say is, thank God for the fact that no one's home to watch my strange little ritual because AJ nearly pissed herself watching the first time she saw me struggling to find the keys to my own house.

I dropped my bag at the foot of the stairs and went into the kitchen to check the phone messages. Force of habit – most of the time they're not even for me, but I got so used to doing it when Robin vanished that I end up doing it anyway, even though he's been back for nearly a year. I used to check every day to see if there was a message from him, just to say he was safe or that he would be coming home. Except I never got one. Not to sound too bitter, because I've done my grudge-holding time, but _still_It annoyed me at the time.

"Mr Fitzwalter? We're calling about your gas policy..."

"Mr Fitzwalter? FedEx left an important package with..."

"Edward, it's Vicky from the board of governors. Just calling to say..."

"Marian, it's Robin." Well, _that_ was a new one. I grabbed the phone, listening intently. "Just wondering, as me and some mates are going to the cinema tonight, fancy coming along? You can bring AJ if you want, just not Vaysey and Gisborne..."

"No shit Sherlock," I couldn't help stating to the empty kitchen, despite the fact no one could hear me.

"...and it's at seven thirty. We're going to see Juno, so call if you're coming." _Beep. _I dropped into a chair, resting my chin on my hands as I stared at the phone. For a moment I honestly couldn't think of anything. Then I was hit by a barrage of the most stupid thoughts: _What should I wear? What will he be wearing? Who does he mean by a few mates (besides the obvious)? __Should I bring AJ? _Though that one was a bit of a no-brainer – without AJ, I was bound to do something stupid. Come to think of it, I would probably mess up even if she was there, but at least she's better than me at making conversation. _Should I go? Do I _want _to go? _Sighing, I realised I did want to go. Don't even ask me why. I didn't even like the look of Juno when they were showing the trailers, but I really wanted to go. I continued to stare at the phone as though expecting it to start offering me advice.

"Well," I mused at last. "I suppose I better call AJ."


End file.
